The ups and downs of life don't cease to sweep us off our feet, especially when the joys of milestones intertwine with the pangs of loss. In a revealing heart-to-heart with the ever-insightful Joshua Tafoya, we delve into the nuances of personal growth against the backdrop of grief. We open up about how we navigate the silent echoes of parental absence during significant life events, and how the teachings and values instilled by our parents continue to shape us, even in their physical absence.
Life's journey seldom follows a straight path, and it's the crooked trails that often lead to growth. Joshua and I share our respective voyages through trials and triumphs, reflecting on the gratitude owed to those who've nourished our spirits along the way. The conversation steers into our internal battles, the ones that lurk in the corners of our minds, questioning our abilities and worth. Yet, in the midst of this vulnerability, we find solace in the idea of spiritual noise cancellation—immersing ourselves in the divine to find calm in the chaos.
Finally, we celebrate the strength drawn from community and the collective embrace of growth, love, and marriage. Joshua's recent marriage and the heartening steps forward in both our lives serve as testaments to the enduring power of support systems. Through personal anecdotes and reflections, we underscore the importance of partnership and mentorship in anchoring our missions. This dialogue is more than an exchange of words; it's an ode to those unsung heroes in our lives and the legacy of those who have paved the way, whose presence is felt, powerfully, even when they're gone.
#familyloss #Heartfelt #marriage #relationships #motivation #faith #Jesus #christian #Hope #Elohimpodcast #christianPodcast
The ups and downs of life don't cease to sweep us off our feet, especially when the joys of milestones intertwine with the pangs of loss. In a revealing heart-to-heart with the ever-insightful Joshua Tafoya, we delve into the nuances of personal growth against the backdrop of grief. We open up about how we navigate the silent echoes of parental absence during significant life events, and how the teachings and values instilled by our parents continue to shape us, even in their physical absence.
Life's journey seldom follows a straight path, and it's the crooked trails that often lead to growth. Joshua and I share our respective voyages through trials and triumphs, reflecting on the gratitude owed to those who've nourished our spirits along the way. The conversation steers into our internal battles, the ones that lurk in the corners of our minds, questioning our abilities and worth. Yet, in the midst of this vulnerability, we find solace in the idea of spiritual noise cancellation—immersing ourselves in the divine to find calm in the chaos.
Finally, we celebrate the strength drawn from community and the collective embrace of growth, love, and marriage. Joshua's recent marriage and the heartening steps forward in both our lives serve as testaments to the enduring power of support systems. Through personal anecdotes and reflections, we underscore the importance of partnership and mentorship in anchoring our missions. This dialogue is more than an exchange of words; it's an ode to those unsung heroes in our lives and the legacy of those who have paved the way, whose presence is felt, powerfully, even when they're gone.
#familyloss #Heartfelt #marriage #relationships #motivation #faith #Jesus #christian #Hope #Elohimpodcast #christianPodcast
A week before I got married, I was searching and I doubted that I'd be a good husband and all I wanted to hear was my dad say, hey, you're going to be okay, and like this is freaking horrible man. It's just so hard to celebrate the good things in life. Who you were trying to, you know, do it for wasn't there. I bought my first house and I just sat there and I sat there in an empty house and I was like you know what? I just wanted my dad and to see you know, I want to kind of like to present the house. Look, I did it. Like I want to bring my car and be like, look, dad, isn't it nice. Like like I've worked hard for it, like you told me like I'm not a bum, like you know getting married, like aren't you proud of me?
Speaker 2:Like Welcome to Elohim podcast, a podcast about real life issues from a biblical perspective. On this podcast, we don't just want to be entertained, we want to be changed. Listen to the end to hear what God has for your life. Elohim Podcast. We have an amazing guest today. This is my brother, this is my partner in crime. Even though we're not committing any crimes, we're serving the kingdom of God. This is an amazing servant of the Lord. He preaches with the fire of God. Man, I love your heart. I love what you're doing for the kingdom. Today we have this podcast with my friend, the one and only, joshua Tafoya. How's?
Speaker 1:it going. It's going good. Man Third tries the charm. This is the third time it is man you tries the charm. This is third time.
Speaker 2:It is, man, you have been on this podcast three times, that's right. So the first time it was at my house. We did a podcast. It was my first rodeo. Uh, you came into the room. We had this, this black table right, don't forget the candle, the candle, don't forget the candle. We had this, uh, this oil lamp right, right, eventually. So a guest came and with this computer, he moved it too quick and it broke. The candle, don't forget the candle. We had this oil lamp, right, right. Eventually, a guest came and with this computer, he moved it too quick and it broke. Wow, but no, it was very, it was funny because it was like so intimate, right, right here.
Speaker 1:I was on a podcast date is what it felt like.
Speaker 2:We just needed to take out the picnic basket, right, right. I'm super excited to announce that we have a sponsorship with BKW Emerging Technology Specialists. They provide cabling, cameras, microphones and lighting. You can visit their website at bkwincnet. They provide more than 50 brands. They have provided service to more than 1,200 customers in the Valley and they've been around for more than 23 years. They have the quality and the experience to back it up. You can see their catalog the cameras they have, the lighting they have. Also, I'm super excited to share with you guys the sponsorship we have with Flying Phoenix PCs. They will elevate your gaming experience. You can also visit their website at FlyingPhoenixPCs.
Speaker 2:They have an amazing catalog. You can go through their catalog and see the different builds that they have. They will increase and elevate your gaming experience. You can have one purchase that's already built or customize it to your need or to your liking. At the bottom of their website you will see the different reviews. I'm not lying to you when I tell you that they have amazing customer service and quality products. No, but it's so awesome to see what God has done. Man, I was not a member of Family Worship Center at that time, right, I was just visiting, or I've just heard of it. Also, at that time you weren't married yet. No, I was not. No, and now you're married. Praise God, you have a brand new truck. Yes, you've purchased a home. So God has just been blessing you, man, and it's beautiful to see. Yeah, man.
Speaker 1:First and foremost, I just want to commend you. You know, something is of God when he begins to take you higher and elevate you higher. God when he begins to take you higher and elevate you higher. So I commend you with your consistency. I know you've been through a lot over these last couple of years, but your heart to keep going forward, man has encouraged me. Matter of fact, you are the one that inspired me to start my podcast. Yeah so. But first and foremost, man, I want to honor you. I'm thankful to be here with you. You know, we're not just now. Now we're just not people who do ministry together. I consider you part of the FWC family, my family, and I'm glad man I'm excited to be here with you.
Speaker 2:You know it's real and you've crossed over. If you get invited to go to Disneyland, that's right. That's how you know. The moment you got married, you started hanging out with the married folks. It's not too bad on that side, with the slim, thick folks. Yes, on the rich and glory. We've built some credit on this side, Right, right, right. But no, we're eating good, Not just physically, because you know we've been to the steakhouses, that's right. Thank you for inviting me to Fogo de Chau. You know that was a good time, that was some good time. But we're also eating good at church, man, that's right. Wednesday, the word was on point. Every service, I feel like every pastor Pastor Mano, Pastor John, Pastor Hyman, Pastor George, all the pastors have, you know, fed us so much spiritual steak that I'm just finding myself getting obese in the spirit.
Speaker 1:Come on praise God, we got to do it some way. No, you know it's. I mean, we're grateful for our pastors there at Family Worship Center. We're just byproducts, you know, of a lot of people in our life and so that most definitely, God's doing some. God is definitely. We are definitely experiencing revival, you know, in every aspect, and what's cool about revival is that it just doesn't happen in church. Every single member, you know you're bringing revival, I'm bringing revival, Everyone's bringing revival, and so it's just an awesome thing to be a part of it is man.
Speaker 2:This Wednesday that just happened we had seven baptisms. Three were scheduled and then, out of nowhere, we always ask the question who else wants to get baptized? Because the day of tomorrow is not promised to nobody. Four more people raised their hand and say I want to get baptized. We're seeing people raised their hand and say I want to get baptized. We're seeing people giving their life to Jesus. We're seeing baptisms. We're seeing the ex-gang member come to church and give their life to Jesus, the ex-drug addict. So it's beautiful to see, but what I am waiting for is to see your podcast. Man, you have an amazing idea. No cosmetics. Like I couldn't have thought of a better name. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, I know.
Speaker 3:You know it's funny. Shout out to.
Speaker 1:Andy Minio. Andy Minio, one of my favorite Christian rappers. He has a song it's called Lay Up and in the beginning of the song it yells out no cosmetics. Yeah, and funny enough, you know, god doesn't just speak to me through worship music. But he spoke to me and said hey, let's make a podcast about. You know the unfiltered things in church.
Speaker 2:Producer, can you drop the beat for um for Josh. I was like, does he?
Speaker 3:have it, I was about to rip it off already.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, Okay, we need. We need people don't know. Producer fell asleep on me. We don't, they haven't heard you, but you've, you've wrecked that church because there's a song.
Speaker 1:What's the song? Oh man, what is it called? Um, uh, shoot that, that, that phenomenal phenomenal phenomenal. Yep, that's yeah, I was the chosen one how does it go?
Speaker 3:uh, I'll never be the same. My heart's forever changed. I know the old me is over and buried in the grave. I don't care what they say, cause I'll never be ashamed of the one who saved me 180. The types. I'm never fading. I still got a little bit in me, the horns came out.
Speaker 2:That's right. No man, it's so Like again, why amen? It's like you're talking about revival. It's amazing, Like we're seeing and this is what I love about my church that we're not in a competition with nobody. Nope, If we were to be in a competition. We're in a competition with the enemy, with the devil, with the kingdom of darkness, but we know that the kingdom of the Lord will always prevail and I love that. We get visitors from different churches, different denominations as well. That's so crazy and you know they get to experience a great time and we're also saving souls and making disciples.
Speaker 1:That's what it's about, something that we love. You said it right we're not in no competition with anybody, and I think that the most important thing is, we don't care where you come from, right, as long as you're leaving with Jesus and you're bringing back anywhere you, we can get anywhere, we could be a service to anybody. Um, we're, we're at, we're ready, we want you guys there. So, yeah, if you guys have nothing to do on a friday night, family work center friday night seven o'clock, amazing.
Speaker 2:Now I want to get to some deeper stuff. Sure, sure, um. You're married now. Uh, you're even dressed as a cowboy now.
Speaker 3:I am. I came with Nikes and now I'm coming with some cowboy boots For reals man.
Speaker 2:He used to shop at Finish Line Full Locker. Now he shops at Boot Barn, at the Boot Barn, don't sleep on the Boot Barn.
Speaker 3:I'll tell you that. Is this your idea or is this your wife's idea?
Speaker 1:No, actually I don't know where this got inspired from one day I started wearing them.
Speaker 3:If you feel threatened, blink twice.
Speaker 1:I can't, I can't really say anything she's in the room, but we have a live audience today, my wife is everything and she chooses everything.
Speaker 1:Right, I'm wrong do you like her cookie? I do. Actually she does make amazing cooking, I do. But yeah, no, I mean I just I just got married. Um, first episode, I wasn't married. Second episode, I wasn't married, and know I'm so blessed to have been, you know, gifted, because that's what she is to me. She's a gift from God and I couldn't, I couldn't, and she's not mine. She belongs to God's and that's what makes it even more special. So I'm grateful that God has placed her in my life. She's definitely my better half. Man, you're trying to have a good date tonight. I'm trying to have a good date tonight, today's date night, yeah, but no, she's awesome man, fearful, she's a god-fearing woman and, and you know, there's no one else I'd rather do life with than her right, right that's beautiful man.
Speaker 2:Um, thank you for inviting me to your wedding. Of course, an honor and it was lit. Huh, it was lit, the mariage that's right, that's right.
Speaker 3:I gotta get it. You gotta get my roots.
Speaker 2:But there was a moment in your wedding it made me reflect a lot. So my mom. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to be at the birth of my first son, jeremiah, and neither for my daughter, and either, when I got married, she had gone to Mexico and she didn't have the way to come back. She didn't have the way to come back, she, she didn't have documentation. So I've got to experience, uh, life-changing, remarkable moments of my life without the presence of my mom, right? So when I saw you getting walking towards the altar at your wedding and this is what really hit me is that you still reserved a chair for your father, even though he's not here with us anymore, correct? And then then I believe so Correct me if I'm wrong you grabbed the Bible and you kissed it, right? Was it his Bible?
Speaker 1:It was his. It was a picture of him with his favorite scripture, psalms 91. But yeah, you know I mean, I'm sure people who are listening, especially you you can relate to where things you're supposed to be happy and congratulating and be having a good time around. It just hits a little different when the people you love aren't there. But you know what you have to.
Speaker 1:And this is where I'm learning, because I tell you what I'm still grieving being transparent, being stuff where I have a lot of grief in me. But I can tell you that God has also healed me in a lot of my areas of my life. And so when I'm there, yeah, did it hurt a little bit that he wasn't able to be there? Sure, I would love for him to be there, but at the same time, I know that the prayer of a type of woman that he prayed for was going to stand at the altar with me. So, yeah, his physical presence may have not been there, but his prayer was right in front of me, amen. And I know he's always prayed for me to have a God fearing woman. So that's why I also have a lot of love for my wife, because she reminds me that she's not just a gift and a blessing. She's someone, she's an answer prayer for my dad, because my dad really admired and cherished and he would call my mom God Jr.
Speaker 1:And you know what, and that's where you have to anyone who had lost.
Speaker 1:You have to live life and knowing that they're a part of that still, right, you know every place of growth, every advancement you get to, don't focus on them not being there. Focus on they're the ones that led you to that place. Right, you know you being a father, you know they're the ones that led you to that place. You know you being a father, you know I can understand you saying I wish my mom was here and and you saying I wish she could see what a great husband and a father I am. And I totally understand that and I can totally meet you and sympathize and empathize with you because I have that same feeling. But the thing is is that you wouldn't have been that great husband, that great father, if it wasn't for your mom and so having that to hang on to and being like, yeah, her presence isn't here, but her lessons and her teachings and her discipline and her and her faith in me and her prayers stand with you every day. Stand with me every day.
Speaker 2:I like how you mentioned prayers, because even though they're not here, maybe they're not alive, but their prayers are still alive Amen. And not to sound crazy spiritual, but one of the last times that I preached not this last recent one, but I think a couple was back I was about to preach and you know, I'm waiting for the five spot and my wife says that she hears from the Lord to tell me and tell me that your mom is not here, but God is here and he's with you and your mom might not be alive, but her prayers are alive. And she didn't know. But as I was waiting for that five spot, I was feeling so anxious, so uneasy, so nervous, especially because of the message that I was about to preach. And and it hit me because I remember, every time I would go preach somewhere, where it'd be locally or wherever it'd be, I would always call my mom and be like hey, mom, I'm going to go preach, can you pray for me right now, looking for some words of encouragement or what do you think about this?
Speaker 2:And my mom was a woman of God, even though she's not here, like we were talking about our parents not being here, even though she's not here, like we were talking about our parents not being here, but their DNA still flows through our body. It's our makeup, exactly, there's their blood rushing through our veins. You feel me? Yeah, so I think that we are the representatives and we are a fruit of the seeds that our parents have planted in our lives. And I don't know, it's supernatural strength, because we can put the pictures. This is you preaching here on the screen, you know, preaching the gospel. There's another picture, I believe. But if people were to look at this, right, they see the glory, they see the young, courageous men of God, they see an amazing message perhaps, but they don't see what goes behind the scenes. Right, and once you grab the microphone, your life is now under a microscope. Correct, yeah, 100%. And you're being attacked all types of different ways.
Speaker 1:Right, and, man, it ain't everything that people think it is. I never wanted to be a preacher, you know, I always loved Jesus, that's 100% sure. But you know, being a preacher is something that wasn't my first choice. But you know what I asked God? God, give me the desires of your heart. And the desire of his heart was for me to be a preacher of his gospel. Everyone's meant to be a preacher of his gospel. It doesn't mean you have to have a microphone on the stage, it just means you have to have a mouth and God by your side. And so, yeah, microphone on the stage, it just means you have to have a mouth, and, and God by your side, yeah, and so, yeah, I mean, don't get me wrong, it's cool being up there and it's cool.
Speaker 1:I love what I do, I love preaching the gospel, I love bringing people closer to Jesus, bringing so, you know, being a messenger of his, of his gospel. But behind the scenes, man, it's nothing but crushing right. It's nothing but in the secret place, pleading with God to speak to you, and dealing with insecurity and dealing with am I good enough? You know, feeling like you're unworthy, feeling like you're not good. In reality we are, and it's only by the grace and mercy of God we're able to do what I do. But you know, especially being a PK, your life is like under a double microscope and it's almost like it don't matter how good you preach, it don't matter how much love you show. People can pray for your downfall.
Speaker 2:Have you ever felt like you've just want to get away? Yeah.
Speaker 1:Every day. Actually, I tell my wife that sometimes I just want to run away. But you know, god didn't even call us to be men to run away. Right, I'll be transparent.
Speaker 1:I still deal with insecurity within my ministry. I deal with insecurity within my character. But I have to remember my insecurities, what I think about myself. But I need to find my security in what I think about God. And so when I go up and do something, I always tell myself yeah, you're right, you can't do it. That's why you have to lean on the Lord, that's why you have to keep in prayer, that's why you have to keep in fasting, because ain't no one getting saved in your name? Right, you can only get saved in Jesus name.
Speaker 1:So my confidence, and I'll get, I'll be honest, I have a lot of confidence in Jesus, right, and he's been so faithful to me that when I go up there, I said, no, I'm expecting people to give their lives to Jesus, I'm expecting to bring fire from heaven. I'm expecting that's good faith. And when people say, oh, that's just cockiness, no, it's not. I've tasted and seen what Jesus can do. So every time I come up there, I believe he wants to take when you, when you're in alignment with him from glory to glory, right. The same way, he took your podcast from a room to a podcast room and you know it's it's funny to say, but who's? You never thought you'd be here, but it was your God. I trust in you, god, I lean on you and I go in your confidence and I don't care what people say and I don't care how much I mess, you're with me.
Speaker 2:You're going to hear voices all the time. Oh yeah, your friends are going to have a voice, your family's going to have a voice, the world is going to have a voice that way. But when you get into the presence of God, you know what happens. When you enter the presence of God, we enter into a space of noise cancellation, where all the noise spiritual AirPods, spiritual AirPods they get canceled out and you get in tuned, yeah, hallelujah, you get in tune with the frequency of the Holy Spirit. Right, and maybe you haven't heard from God because you haven't seeked God, and sometimes you need to.
Speaker 2:Just, it doesn't matter what they say, it doesn't matter what they think. This is what I'm being led to, yeah, and I don't have confidence in myself, in my own intellect and in my own knowledge, but I have confidence that God died on that cross, resurrected on the third day, and that's the God I serve, right, the God that defeated death, the God that defeated and cheesed me. The gossip, that's right. They called him Osana one day, and then they called him, and then they put a crown of thorns on his head, making fun of him. You feel me.
Speaker 1:So I think that that's where our strength will come and that's we need to cancel out the voices, and sometimes it's hard Because I learned that sometimes you try so hard to please the voices that you forget who you're doing it for, and you could be so caught up working for the wrong voice. Think about that, that's good. How many of us are doing the right thing the wrong way or for the wrong reason? And I've been there, I've been guilty of it. Oh, I want to preach this message because I know it's going to make people feel good For the ooze and the awe For the ooze and the awe and not for the need.
Speaker 1:And I praise God for my mentors, I praise God for my pastors, because they love me enough to offend me. And I feel like this is where, as young ministers, guys and girls, we have to allow our and our trusted pastors to offend us, and we live in a world that is so afraid to be offended. That's why no one changes and that's why no one grows, because there are the ones that say hey man, get off your high horse. Hey man, that wasn't biblical. Hey man, I don't feel that that was of God. God had a different message Don't just preach for the Uzzah Nas. And it was in those moments that they've offended me where I had to say you know what, I'm going to take this and I'm going to use it to help me grow and change. And so I don't know how many times Pastor John and Pastor Hyman has hurt my feelings. Um, and my mom, my mom, you know, she, she, she's quick to tell me if she felt in her spirit that that wasn't right.
Speaker 2:I appreciate your mom. I can tell I've never really talked to her about this, but I can discern that she has the gift of discernment. Oh man, I can. I don't know why. It's scary. Yeah, I can't. I don't know why, but I feel like she has told the pastor, john, or you or anybody that she's close to. I don't know about this guy, I don't know about that. I don't think we should do this, I don't think we should do that and I honestly think that that's why maybe God still has her here in this place, because they're necessary. We need guidance, amen, and we will develop that and we'll grow stronger in that. But we need that pulling of the year because they'll guide us.
Speaker 2:And what you're talking about is, I think sometimes we do the wrong, the right thing, the wrong way, because we are not rooted, we're not planted, held accountable. We're not held accountable. I think there's a lot of free agents and freelancers in the faith where they're doing this, they're doing that and they're not being accountable to anything. And you need to be planted in order to grow. You can't grow without setting roots and you can't set roots without being submitted. But what you're doing, man, it's amazing. I remember you shared a message one day and you talked about wineskins. Oh right, man, that message is powerful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that message was was for me. Um man, think about it Like anytime God wanted to do something new, he had to place you somewhere new, at a different, a different mindset and I feel like a lot of times is we're asking God for more, but we're asking for more with the wrong, with the wrong capacity. And so, before God will pour out wine, he's going to stretch out your capacity, and some of us are trying to ask God for more, which we can't handle, and instead we should ask God God, widen my capacity. Why didn't my stretch me out before you give me this so I'll be able to handle it?
Speaker 3:And so many people are and I'll be honest, like I've had to turn down things all the time.
Speaker 1:I'm not ready for that. Wow, Really, yeah, I've had. I've had to say I've had. I can't handle that right now. Um, how do you?
Speaker 2:determine that? Because I think the uh, our excitement could get the best of us right, or our, or our ambition could get the best of us, like, yeah, I want to go and preach over there. Or yeah, I want to do this, oh yeah, I want to do that. So how do you determine that? How do you discipline yourself to be like I'm not ready for that humility?
Speaker 2:humility is key because let me tell you this real quick a lot of you guys ain't ready for marriage. I'm gonna tell you how it is. You guys are asking for a husband and you're asking for a wife and you still can't pay your bills on time and your credits through the floor, like how you expect to be married and pay bills, like tell the people how hard is it it's hard.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you what. My wife's my witness. I have turned down speaking engagements because I feel like man. If I'm not ministering to my wife the right way, why would I go minister to people in another way? Because the Bible says that your wife is your first ministry, that you shall love, that you should love your wife the way God loves the church. And I tell people all the time I say and there's these the problem is this is that we have people who are willing to divorce their wife before they want to divorce the church. And that's an issue because God is and she's my witness. I don't know how many speaking engagements, two or three days speaking engagements.
Speaker 1:These last two months I've been married and I said and God has told me no, because you need to get your house in order, you need to learn to love your wife, you need to learn to communicate your wife, you need to learn to uplift your wife, you need to encourage your wife. And the reason why God has us do that? Because there's no glory in that yeah besides to your wife, there's no, there's no applause for that, there's no people telling you good job. It's you solely having the pure intention to say I just want to see my relationship with my wife be elevated.
Speaker 1:And so we're selfish beings. We're just naturally selfish. The first things we always say when babies is what mine, that's mine, and and, and it's true and like, marriage is no joke. I'll tell you that right now. You know, even when you're quote unquote ready for marriage, you're not ready for marriage, and and I feel like the moment, giving your giving it's like god, it's like giving your life for somebody. Yeah, um, I know you've been married how many years now it's gonna going to be seven in.
Speaker 1:December, see seven. And have any of those years ever just been a breeze?
Speaker 2:Never, never it's. A marriage is like a garden and you have to water the garden and you have to cultivate the roses that are among the garden, right. And even though it's hard, sometimes, just like the rose, from the thorns, come the roses right. So from the trials, from the tribulations, from the hardships come the beautiful, great moments. You feel me and sometimes you'll say, oh, the grass is greener on the other side. Yeah, because maybe you're the one that manages that grass and you're not watering it and you're looking around at grass that is being watered, right, and the moment they get divorced and they leave and they get in a new relationship, it fails and it goes down the drain. It's the same thing Because you fail to water it again. You feel me and what you said earlier, man, was spot on that Some people are more willing to divorce their wife and not so much the church, right, and we've seen that because we've seen people and no, no shade at anybody. God can redeem God can restore any ministry 100%.
Speaker 2:But there is some cases where they've been divorced and all this, but they never stopped doing ministry, right? So I think sometimes, like, is you doing ministry worth it? Like is it even pleasing God? Like, for example, you're saying I got invited to go preach and all that, but I feel in my spirit that it's not time right now. I need to get my house in order.
Speaker 1:But I also do understand that we need to be careful with conviction and guilt, but right, but when you're in the spirit, you know to differentiate either or 100. I mean I, if trust me, I I can't say that I didn't want to go preach, but it was the conviction of the lord, right. And the thing is, is that? Um, people have been asking me oh, tell me about marriage. I'm like, I've only been married two months, man, and the thing is this a hundred percent, if I don't, I'm not an expert at all. Matter of fact, I'm wouldn't even consider myself like any type of professional in marriage. Don't, I can't even spell marriage. Let me tell you that. But let me tell you this If I were to tell somebody that is going to get married and it is looking to get married, is first, one be held accountable?
Speaker 1:Second, I have never, back when I was in ministry and I was single, I was intrigued by ministers. Now more than ever, I am intrigued by husbands. Wow, and I run to. I don't care if you're, if you can you know that? All 66 books of the Bible, right, tell me what you did, tell me how you got better, tell me how you were a good husband, tell me where you failed, so I wouldn't make the same. Tell me, tell, and I am so eager to be a student of being a husband, um, and because that's what you have to be in life always be a student. So that's my one thing, amen. The one thing I've learned is too much in marriage is learn to be a student and always, don't ever, be afraid for premarital counseling, marital counseling and asking husbands and wives for advice.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's so beautiful. I think that's true. I think from the first podcast when you said don't look at the suits, look at the fruit. Right, that's always stuck in my head, right, but it's so true. I think that you can determine what type of man of god they are based on the reflection of their family. Right, like I was telling victor, I can't go out there and be so confident in myself and and be so sharp if my kids are not good, yeah, if they're all bummy, if my wife's not good, like how can I have the audacity to go out there and like, look at me and my wife is looking miserable, right, I had given um again not to sound spiritual and anything, but I had told somebody uh, I gave him a word about his family and all this and I thank god he took the advice and I told him again. I was like man, you're watering your garden, right, I can see your family, I can see the change, I can see a glow in your wife. Now, you know, this is just a private conversation that me and him had and you can tell that there's a change because of obedience. That's number one.
Speaker 2:And love is not an emotion, love is a decision every day. You know, it's a choice that we make every day, and just how we decide to love christ and follow him every day, being faithful to his word and being obedient. That's the same thing with marriage. We choose and we decide. Either are we going to fight the good fight, are we going to finish the race, or are we going to give up and quit. Right, because our legacy depends on it. And when I say legacy, we're talking about our children, the inheritance that we're going to leave here on this earth.
Speaker 2:I want Jeremiah to be a great husband, I want him to be a great man of God, I want him to have a family and to flourish. But what's going to happen if I give the wrong example and I give up and I crush his dreams and whatever it's going to affect him? Right, and I give up and I crush his dreams and whatever it's going to affect them, right? So that's, I think you can. You can judge, uh, a book not by its cover, by, but by the letters that it's written amongst the book. Exactly, it's fruits and um, no, I, I see. That's why I admire pastor John, because when he preaches, I preaches. I see his wife in agreement. I see his wife cheering him on. I see how he goes to the basketball games for his children. Pastor Israel Tavar told me the same thing Look around, look at the pastors that are doing great and mighty things. Usually their wife is right there with them.
Speaker 1:More than ever I've seen my. So when my dad passed, I realized how really strong my mom was. She is the one pushing husband. Like wives are the ones pushing husbands forward, like husbands may be the ones in the front lines, but it's definitely the wife that's that's pushing them and pushing them, and pushing them, because I really, I never, really never, realized how strong my mom was till my dad was gone. And so I give it up for all the wives that are pushing their husbands.
Speaker 1:And if you're a wife, encourage your husband. I think that the I don't care if you're a pastor of a thousand people. The best encouragement I get is when my wife tells me hey, man, you're a really good husband. Hey, you really made me happy. Hey, you make me feel loved. That's the number one encouragement she cause, she's my biggest fan. Yeah, be your, be your husband's biggest fan. Um, because you gotta, like you know, she, her words, are, are, are, hold the most weight to me. Her and God, god and her. Sorry, babe, gotta gotta go first, but yeah, no no for sure vision in your ministry.
Speaker 2:when, when it comes to both of you guys together, what is? What do you think god? What do you think god has planned for you guys?
Speaker 1:I don't know, but I know we're ready for whatever he has for us. Um, I uh, this is no one knows this, um, but I was supposed to be ordained into the ministry. Um, the last time the other pastors were ordained and Pastor John had asked me do you want to get ordained? And the Lord has spoke to me and I felt in my spirit I don't want to get ordained till I get married, because she's not doing ministry beside me, she's doing ministry with me. And so I wanted to make it a point that this isn't my ministry, this is our ministry, because when I go up there, I'm a representation of her and she's a representation to me. We're one to become one. And so I told John, I'm going to wait because I want to, I want to do this ministry with, with y'all.
Speaker 1:And so you know that's number one, like, like, my goal in life isn't. You know it's not. My goal in life isn't to be a pastor. My goal in life isn't to have a thousand member church. My goal in life is to see the lost saved. My goal in life is to see people who never believed in Jesus saved. And I know for a fact me being in in church my whole life and learning those lessons that I don't have to be a pastor to see that I don't have to be a pastor to see that I don't have to be a minister to see that I'm a minister at the gym, I'm a minister at my workplace.
Speaker 1:And the thing is, is that this young generation needs to realize you're not a full-time ministry, isn't when you start getting paid full-time ministries, when you say yes to Jesus and you start opening up your mouth wherever you go and, starting out, start allowing the Holy spirit, and you start opening up your mouth wherever you go and, starting out, start allowing the Holy Spirit, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and letting him lead you. And so, yeah, you know, I see, honestly, I tell you also, all the time she's, she could be my witness. You know, I tell her. I see you leading woman conferences. I see you lead, discipling young woman and admire young woman, admiring you because of your obedience, because you were pure to marriage, because you decided to follow God, because before you said yes to a man and yes to a boyfriend, you said yes to Jesus.
Speaker 1:And that's why I honor her and that's why I'll always commit to her and that's why I'll honor her because people see me and they see, you know, sometimes, oh, he's a guy, I know that guy, he's a pastor or he's whatever, he's a preacher. But I'm like you need to see her because she's the one that inspires me, she's the one that encouraged I look up, I have times where I look up to her because she has been able to to be honorable and obedient to God, where in places, I have it Right. And so, yeah, I, I honor people, you know I honor her for that. And so, yeah, we don't know, you know if God calls us to be evangelists.
Speaker 1:we'll be evangelists If God, if God calls us to be evangelists.
Speaker 3:We'll be evangelists If God calls us to be young. We'll preach at Cancun and Rocky Point. We'll go all over the world and make our life a vacation. Don't be you want to go to Rome and preach at the Vatican? Yeah, right, right.
Speaker 1:Anything, anything and so like if we shoot. You know, if we're young adult pastors, we just want to be available. You know we want to serve. We just want to serve. We want to see people's lives change and we don't really care. We'll be wherever God wants us to be.
Speaker 2:Man that's beautiful. I think having this conversation with you has increased my, even though I already had respect for you. But I think sometimes people don't know. They see, oh, why hasn't he done this, why isn't he doing that, or why is this person doing this? You know, know, I rather wait on the Lord and be ready than rush it and have my greatest downfall. And I think what you're doing it's inspirational and it's, it's a model to follow in the sense that, like, are you ready to bear the weight, are you ready to carry on that baton?
Speaker 1:because only God knows you feel me and I feel, and the people who want to rush into ministry really don't know what ministry is, because ministry is you laying out. It's like you laying down yourself every single day. I look at my brother, pastor John, and he's my pastor and I'm grateful for my pastor. He's also my pastor. It ain't all microphones and lights man.
Speaker 2:I told him, man, you're a call center during the day yes, dude, Calls after calls. I? I told him, man, you're a call center during the day yes, dude.
Speaker 1:Calls after calls, I'm like Lord, have mercy on this man. And there's a cost. It ain't just speaking, it's. You give up your children's time, you give up your wife's time. The balance on Pastor John's life, there's no way. I know he's in tune with God and I know he's been with God, because there's no way he could do that on his own strength A hundred percent. And that's why I admire him, because I look at his life sometimes and people be like oh, all you do is preach. Yeah right, you shall, I wish Okay.
Speaker 3:That's what I wish I did.
Speaker 1:Right, but there's a cost, and so I commend the pastors out there, I commend the lead pastors, I commend the assistant pastors, because it ain't it ain't all rainbows and sunshines and I know what it is firsthand to give up your give up your parents and and give up you know they can come to basketball games because they have a church thing and they got to go do marriage counseling, and I know what it is to to have your mom and dad gone because they're on a, on a missions trip and they got to preach the gospel. And you're staying with relatives and you're staying with cousins and you're staying with friends, and so these are the things behind the scenes that people don't see Do you think you got the best version I definitely did Of your parents.
Speaker 3:I definitely did. He already knew what I was going to ask. I definitely did. You know what you know.
Speaker 1:We talk about this all the time, if you have dinner with me and my family, we have competitions. Oh, I'm dad's favorite, oh, I'm mom's favorite. But you know, we all know deep down. I know my mom and my dad love me the best, but I'm not going to say that. But you know deep down. Yeah, I got so my older siblings. There's a big gap. So Pastor John is 10 years older than me. Pastor, hey, prophesying my brother Art, he's 13 years older than me. My sister Chrissy is 17 years older than me. Wow, and so they got Bishop Dad.
Speaker 2:They got Bishop Dad, the one that was also trying to figure it out as a dad and a husband.
Speaker 1:As a dad, as a husband, as a minister. He had all these responsibilities. So he was gone a lot and I had a little bit of that from like from like till about 11, 12 years old. But after 12 years old man, he was dad, dad to me. Um never missed any of my sport events Very rarely, um. The only time he would miss is on Sundays, of course, you know Um, and that's when he would let me go Um. But he, he showed up to all my sporting events. My parents showed up to all my sporting events. He was the president of the boosters clubs for my high school. He was involved in my life in every single way. Our team was the first team in Arizona I'd never seen in Arizona that had a team pastor, my club team and so he would lead prayer for our team every single game.
Speaker 1:My dad was heavily involved and that's why it was so hard for me when he was gone, because I understand, you know, I never asked my siblings this but who my dad was to him. But to me he was definitely dad, dad. I never called him pastor, I'd call him dad. You know, I call him no matter what. He was To a lot of people he was pastor To a lot of people he was bishop To me the greatest man ever to me was my father. Yeah, so that's, that's who I knew.
Speaker 2:What is the biggest thing you miss from your dad?
Speaker 1:The biggest thing I miss is I never realized this and, man, I might get a little emotional, but I just missed the phone calls and I remember, every time I call my dad, the first thing I say hey pop, hey pop. And you know, getting married man and navigating a ministry and trying to be a good husband and trying to be a good son and trying to be a good friend and trying to be a good leader and trying to be a good disciple and trying to be a good influence and trying to be a good example to all these people. And you know, you're not perfect and you mess up and sometimes it's so hard because sometimes people don't have mercy for you and sometimes when you're hurt and you're not healed, you you operate in dysfunction. And when you operate in dysfunction you make mistakes and that's just a human thing and sometimes people don't see that. So it's hard for me, most definitely because I just miss him saying man, you're going to be okay. And I feel like I haven't heard that in so long.
Speaker 1:And I'll be honest, it's been rough for me getting married. You know, a week before I got married I was such a doubt that I'd be a good husband and all I wanted to hear was my dad say, hey, you're going to be okay Affirming yeah. And you know it's cool getting hey, you're you're going to be okay Affirming yeah, and and you know it's, it's. It's cool getting it from, you know, your mom. It's awesome. I love my mom so much. Um. It's cool getting it from your brothers. It's. It's cool getting it from your pastors and your mentors. But there's something about a father, um, that when he speaks to you, it ain't for no benefit, it ain't for no. I'm just telling you this it's, it's so, solely, wholeheartedly, because they love you Unconditional, unconditional. There's nothing, there's no ties to it, there's nothing. And there's not because I have to, but he's, he would just tell me you're going to be okay and I miss that and I think my life over the last four years I've been so stressful and so heavy because I feel like I don't have that. And so you know, being completely transparent, I don't. You know he's cool. He was an awesome pastor, awesome preacher, but more than anything, I felt like I could conquer the world when he was around.
Speaker 1:A lot of my confidence, a lot of my I'll be honest with you growing up, my cockiness came from my dad, your confidence, yeah, cause my dad would say no one can stop you. Wow, go after your dreams, don't let no one stop you. Let the haters hate, do what you're going to do. You can do it, no matter what you did. It was just something in me that my life was motivated by. I can do anything in the world. And until this day I feel that I feel that engraved. I may not hear it, but it's engraved in my heart. I tell my wife all the time babe, I want to create a business, and I know I can do it. Babe, I want to go preach around the world and I know I can do it.
Speaker 1:And it's so hard to have that dream in your heart but then you don't have that in your ear. Everything's going to be okay. Have that in your ear, everything's going to be okay, right. And so you know it's been hard for me. It's been hard for me. You know I I wish I can go to there's so many questions I wish I can ask him in the season of my life, man, and you know I'm grateful for the father figures, the mentors God has placed in me because they, god knows, I need them and I'm for them. But you know there's always be that spot in your heart, you know, for your mom. You know like, for instance, you know the love of a mom my dad wasn't lovey-dovey, my dad was an encourager, my dad was a uplifter, my mom's a lover, right, you know that love, that motherly love that, just like a hug, can just change your whole entire day. You know you're my son. You know my baby, my treasure. You know all that. You know you know what's, what's something that you specifically miss about your mom.
Speaker 2:I I grew up seeing my mom be the best example of a believer in my whole life. She had a unique zeal for the things of the Lord, so I think when she passed away, I would myself. Who's gonna pray for me now? Yeah, who's gonna give me that sound um doctrine, that that, uh, that guidance, um, like you say, that unconditional love? Um, that doesn't matter how many times you fail. There was a moment um in high school where me and my dad got in a big fight. Um, unfortunately I can't say. I had a great father in the regards of how he treated us and he always provided, paid our bills, everything. But when it came down to being a father and loving, it was a different story. But I remember I had gotten a huge argument with my dad. I left my house. I went to a friend's house.
Speaker 2:I was my senior year of high school and from one day to another I took everything from my room. My parents had gone to church. They had locked the doors. I found a way inside the house. I don't know if you guys seen it, but older houses had like a vent on the side and I got a ladder from the backyard and I broke through. The vent went inside the attic and went all the way where there's an opening to the attic and my parents room went through and and basically broke into the house, got into my car, opened it up. I had a bunch of j's.
Speaker 2:At that time, yeah, I was like a big sneakerhead, threw a whole bunch of j's, a bunch of clothes. I had nothing but, like ralph lauren, at the time, I was just a hustler, like nothing was handed to me. I was always working hard. And then when my parents came home from church they saw that my room was emptied out. And so it was my senior year and I was trying to get good grades. So for like two weeks I got the best grades of my life. I was trying to do the best ever just to prove a point, like, look, I can do it on my own.
Speaker 2:But then later on it gets to you. You start missing your house, you start missing your room, you start missing your bed, you start missing the homemade meals. And you know just your, your family. And I remember all that. Man, I gotta go back. I feel like the prodigal son. I gotta go back.
Speaker 2:And I remember swallowing my pride and just going to the house. It was like 5 pm in the evening. I knock on the door. I'm like, damn, I don't know what to expect. Yeah, and I remember I opened the door. Someone opened the door and it was my mom. She looked at me and I was like I didn't know what to expect. And she saw me with these eyes full of love, you know, yeah, and it's just like it's like jesus looking at you and say, son, and yeah, I will never forget that moment because instead of yelling at me, instead of telling me where you been, this, and that she just opened the door, gave me a hug, yeah, welcomed me back in.
Speaker 2:And I don't expect to cry, but the woman that gave me life, the woman that taught me so much, you know, I pray to God that he gives me the strength and that I'm able to continue my walk with Jesus. Yeah, so that's one of the biggest things that I miss is my mom's resiliency. That's beautiful. Of the biggest things that I miss is my mom's resiliency. Um, that's beautiful. If you were to see a preaching of hers, like her preach, you'd be like, oh, I see, I see, how easy is that savage? That's a beautiful thing. Man, the dna and um, just, my mom taught me how to forgive man like crazy.
Speaker 2:Like I remember when, before she passed away, a couple years before she had broken her knee, the doctor had put screws in her leg. He was supposed to remove the screws. He forgot to put anesthesia on her knees, on her body, and he removed the screws and she felt the whole pain. She went into shock, wow, and me and my brother were like we're going to pull up on the doctor in Mexico. You know we're going to pull up. He's going to find out who we are. And my mom said no, you guys are tripping, like, obviously in Spanish. And later on she goes to the doctor's visit and tells the doctor like man, please don't do this ever to somebody else, but forgave him, even preached to him.
Speaker 2:And, like my mom, taught me how to forgive, taught me how to love, taught me how to be resilient, taught me how to be a warrior of god. And that's why, in her funeral, I made it my life goal to give her the best funeral service I could possibly give her right. In mexico they're, they're used to, like you pass away the next day or the next two days, they bury you because they don't really have the money or I don't know. They don't really practice. You know how they prepare your body here. They put chemicals and they do autopsies and all kinds of stuff over there. No, they bury you like this. But I made it a life goal, like, no, I need to look for a church. I needed to look for how I'm going to do the service. So I paid extra to the funeral home to prepare her body and wait at least a week, and so I.
Speaker 2:In her funeral. We had an amazing service. I had a couple friends from phoenix come and do a great, amazing worship. Shout out to manny, shout out to jacob, shout out to all the guys frankie, paulina, angie, all the people that went right sorry if I miss forget your name, uh, to mention you, but I I remember my son was up there on the altar playing and worshiping and and in the whole moment, and I was like this is what my mom stood for, this is what she did. My mom was the type of person that in the, during the worship and the praise, she would be up there dancing and worshiping God and and I knew that this is what she would have wanted for her funeral.
Speaker 1:That's beautiful and I think that you know I told you this in the first podcast like it feels good to go on knowing that you did that for her Right. You know I told you then in the last podcast, the last thing my dad ever told me was you took care of me. Yeah, you know, I was the last one to see me. My sister, christy, was the last one to see my dad alive, breathing, operational, in person. And so, like, man like this is freaking horrible man. Man like this is freaking horrible man. But you know, my biggest concern when it came to my dad was I want him to see that I'm going to be the man that he called me to be, that he believes in me to be Wow. And like it's just so hard to celebrate the good things in life when the hard work and discipline and the character and who you were trying to, you know, do it for wasn't there.
Speaker 1:You know, I bought my first house and I just sat there Really, and I sat there in an empty house and I was like you know what? Like, yeah, I'm happy, but I just wanted my dad to see this. You wish he was there. You know small things, but buying my first car. Yeah, you know. Look, I know, the first thing I think about is I wanted my dad and I want to kind of like to present the house. Look, I did it. Like I told you. I told you like I'm going to do this one day and I'm going to be like you and like I want to bring my car and be like, look, dad, isn't it nice, like like I've worked hard for it, like you told me, like I'm not a bum, like you know, and all these things.
Speaker 1:And like you know, getting married, like aren't you proud of me, like you know. You know, I know my dad would have loved my wife, like, but been in love with her. She's awesome, you know, and she reminds me a lot of my mom and my dad. But it's those moments, man, but you know what, even in those moments, you have to be okay and you have to say I know in my heart they'd be proud.
Speaker 1:I know in my heart they'd be happy for me and more than anything, like right now, I go and I celebrate and I just look up and I just think about my dad. My wife sees me go on these episodes where I'm in the shower and I'm just blank. Yeah, because sometimes it just hits you, you're just zoned out, yeah, you're just trying to be happy for yourself, right to be happy for yourself, right, trying to trying to like celebrate yourself and your marriage and and like that heaviness of, like that depression sometimes will come go that way. If you know, you ever had that wave, just like dang, that hit me hard today yeah, man, I, I think.
Speaker 2:Um, I told victor this the other day. I told him I refuse to have bad days. Yeah, yeah, I will have. I'm okay with having a bad moment, I'm okay with having a bad minute, I'm okay with having a bad hour. And those moments do happen, because there's days where I'm driving to work I'm like dang, I can't believe it. Like you're human, I miss my mom.
Speaker 3:I wish I can go to.
Speaker 2:Mexico and go eat to our favorite restaurant, right? I wish I can just talk to her one more time, give her a hug for the last time, one more time, one more moment. And so I do have a bad moment of, you know, loneliness, sadness or emotion. Maybe that whole drive was emotional, right, but I don't want it to affect my whole day. Why I'm trying to? What I'm trying to say is that sometimes we have to be careful and put things into perspective, because if we allow that to to get the best of us and we don't celebrate the victories, it will affect those that love us, oh yeah, it will affect our wife, it will affect our kids, it will affect the ones that look up to us, because we need to celebrate, we need, we need to have a chance of victory and in those moments but if we continue to go down there, that path because there was a moment where I had to make a decision last year I came to Family Worship Center. I got rooted, I got planted. I didn't serve right away. It seems like I did, but I didn't.
Speaker 2:But then there was a moment that I went through a season and I'm forever grateful to Pastor John that he invited me to go. He's like man we need together because, you know, we need to have a talk. And in that moment I was going down the wrong path, like I was starting to contemplate certain things, compromise certain things, but I give god the glory that he used a man of god to intervene. Um, but I had to make a decision. Am I going to feel sorry for the rest of my life? Am I going to go down this moment?
Speaker 2:And I'm I had to make a choice. Am I going to feel sorry for the rest of my life? Am I going to go down this moment? And I had to make a choice. God, I need you to give me supernatural strength. I need you to give me peace. I need you to heal this wound. I don't know how long it's going to take Maybe a year, maybe two, maybe three, maybe four years but I need to get out of the slump. I need the supernatural power of God. I love my mom with all my heart and everything, but I know there's a new season.
Speaker 3:I know there's new things.
Speaker 2:There's new people, new relationships, and I don't want to idolize my mom. I don't want to get to the point where I've loved her so much, where I looked up to her so much, that she became like a God to me, like an idol to me. I need to be careful with that 100. And yeah, there's moments like, oh, she would have loved my daughter. Yeah, yeah, oh, I I think about man just having her be around her and this and that because she reminds me of my mom. I am brown, my wife, my baby's like pale, she's white and my, my, my baby, is white. You know I'm saying so. She got the, her grandparents, her grandma's colors like, like my wife's mom, my suegra and my mother.
Speaker 2:They're both like the lighter complexions, the light skin, and so I would have questions for my wife. But we have the same birthmark, we have the same big old eyes and certain things that you know are the same. But definitely she reminds me of my mother. But I got to be careful. I don't know if the producer can pull up, uh, isaiah 57, or give me the phone.
Speaker 2:Last night I've been reading this book. It's been blessing my life and before I went to sleep I saw again. I don't want to sound spiritual, but I was closing my eyes and I, isaiah 57 came to mind, isaiah 57. So before I could go to sleep I had to pull up Isaiah 57. So before I could go to sleep I had to pull up Isaiah 57. And this kind of blew my mind. I don't know if somebody has a phone or the Bible, but this gave me so much peace. It kind of reassured me of why things happen or how things happen. But Isaiah 57. I don't know if the producer has it. Damn your wife. Wife, she got it thank you so much.
Speaker 1:I thank God for you, sister check this out.
Speaker 2:Isaiah 57 this is the NIV version. The righteous perish and no one takes it to heart. The devout are taken away and no one understands. We don't understand, josh, why the bishop makes it too hard. The devout are taken away and no one understands, right? We don't understand, josh, why the Bishop, why the pastor, why the woman of God was taken away? Not a single clue there. No one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil so good. Look at the times, look at the moments, look at the seasons that we're living. It's wickedness everywhere. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace right, they find rest and they lie in death right, that's so good. So those who walk uprightly enter into peace, they find rest and they lie in death. Yeah, so I'm like man. It automatically reminded me of you guys. That reminded me, me of my life, of my family, and I'm like, yes, I don't understand, but these were men and women of God and just like in my, in these past years, since the pandemic started, it has been a tough season.
Speaker 2:I lost my childhood pastor, the pastor I grew up with. I lost Alfredo Serna from JDN Other pastors I had a great friend in the faith. He was young, 29 years old. We did ministry together. I would go preach, he would go worship. Amazing voice, anointed man of God. He got taken away. A lot of other people that I know in the faith have been taken away, but only God understands and he gives us peace. Last night, you know, before going, I didn didn't. We didn't even have this podcast. No, I hit up josh. He's like man. I don't even got a fresh fade, I don't got nothing, just coming as I am today. But I think somebody needs to hear this.
Speaker 1:somebody needs to hear this was definitely divine appointment, because I feel like even we needed this. I feel like you know, I feel like god was saying no, you all need help, you all better talk to each other. But no, you know, 100%, don't make. There's a part of grieving that you're allowed to be selfish and there's a part of grieving according to God that is, you know, selfish, selfish. And the thing is is this is like, first of all, this it's okay not to be okay. Address you're not okay, cry about it. You're not okay, cry about it, yell about it, be frustrated about it, be angry about it. Go ahead, that's not bad.
Speaker 1:Now there's another time where we have to be like do I really wish they were here other than heaven? Because all, all part of our grieving is missing their absence. But to the believer, to be away from this body is to be in the presence of the Lord, as the Bible says. And so what you have to remember is my dad would be pissed if I had a prayer and I said come back down here. Actually, pastor John had a dream, really and I hope he's okay with me sharing this, I'm going to share it anyways but he had a dream that he prayed for my dad to come back to life, and he did. And my dad woke up angry and said why did you do this to me? Wow, think about that man. He's in paradise no more sin, no more, nothing like straight joy, straight presence of god. So he probably feels more bad for me. If he was like you know, then I will for him. Right, and so you know what I mean. No more back pain, no more, no more diets, no more diets, but no more cholesterol.
Speaker 2:exactly, exactly, man. That is. So I think that I think sometimes god allows like podcasts like this or moments like this to remind us look, it's going to be okay. And maybe sometimes you do forget that dream, like in the moments of lowly spirit, of sadness. You forget that dream because I'm sure, forget that dream, like in the moments of lowly spirit of sadness. You forget that dream because I'm sure that that dream was a blessing man. That is true. There is no better place in the presence of God, there is no better place than heaven, and that's so true. I mean, imagine our desires. God heal him. Maybe that wasn't God's plan, maybe that wasn't God's desire for him. He finished the race, he finished his purpose, and that is true. Your dad would be upset, he would be a very sorry about my Christian customers, by the way.
Speaker 2:He'll give you a holy slap. Yeah, he would. Yeah, how dare you pray for me? You're chilling up in heaven. You ain't got to pay your rent.
Speaker 1:He's got his mansion up there. He's just. I don't know what time it is, but whatever we're going to come to, this is for every Christian. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians run their ways to win. You know, I admire you because you run their ways to win. You know, I admire people of the faith who are doing actually being disciples Not just being Christians being disciples of God and run the race to win. Win a soul. You know, if you were listening to this right now and I don't know what camera you're at, I'm looking at whatever camera. I'm at this one right here. I'm going to point at this one. I'm looking at you right now.
Speaker 1:If you did not listen to anything, we're glad that you heard our podcast. We're glad that you heard our story. We're glad that you're going to be healed, but, at the same time, save a soul, tell somebody, tell your testimony, give your life to Jesus and be a laborer for his harvest. Wow, you know, and that's what we get caught up in is like, like you know, it's so funny. God speaks to me all the time when I'm going through like sad times and he's like all right, your dad's gone, how about you go win a soul. Wow Meaning like Get over it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, get over it, he's with me, I'm not changing my mind. I know what I did and I'm not going to change my mind. And I have to find that peace. And the Lord always tells me you want to see your dad Go, be a good and faithful servant. You know, because he's. We're in the final hour, you know, but we've been talking about that. We're in the final hour, you know, jesus is coming, and so I tell myself that, okay, that there's going to be a time and a season for that, for me to have that, that, that reuniting with God, reuniting with your, with your mom. But the thing is, when we go to heaven, we're not, you're not running to your mom, I'm not running to my dad. Right, we're both running to Jesus, amen. So we have to remember. That too is like there's a mission here on earth. Their mission was up. Now let's put our hands to the plow.
Speaker 1:When Moses died, he gave Joshua. God gave Joshua 30 days and then he said wipe your face and go, take over the river Jordan, meaning like I gave you your morning time, your grieving time, and know that grieving is for a season for those, and I feel in my spirit to say that you've been, and I try to be sensitive because everyone grieves in their own way, right, but there's a way to grieve and go forward. Stop grieving and staying, sit down, grieve and go forward. And so that's what we have to realize and that's why I admire testimony like yours, because it's not just a sob story, it's a. This happened, yeah, it sucked, but we're here and we're going to go forward in the name of Jesus, and I believe in my faith that he, she's with my mom, your, my, my dad, your mom's their savior, and I got to do what God has called me to do Amen. There is nothing more encouraging to me as a leader and being in leadership than hearing men and women of God say that Amen.
Speaker 2:You know Powerful yeah, man, that is powerful. Falling down can be an accident, but staying down is a choice. Come on, and I received that word because you know you can grieve. But it's a difference between grieving and staying put, and grieving and moving forward. And I think that God has called you. God has called Josh, god has called his, his wife Jocelyn, my wife Taryn, everybody, anybody that's listening. God has called you for a time such as this.
Speaker 2:You were born for a time time such as this. You were born for a time such as this. You have a purpose to fulfill, you have a calling to complete and the time is running out and this world is thirsty, and the only one that can satisfy their thirst is Jesus. Come on, somebody, man, you have been a blessing. Thank you so much, josh, for being on this podcast. Any last words of encouragement that you want to give to that person that is listening.
Speaker 1:No, you know what I just pray. This touches your heart. I pray that in some way we were a blessing to you and know that you're not alone in this. God's not calling us to perfection, he's calling us to progression. Give your life to Jesus every day. Surrender your life to Jesus every day, repent every single day, and get around community of believers. That's powerful. Number one. Get it in the church, get around community. You know you will grow and adapt to what you're around. And, last and not least, I love my wife. I love you, yoselin Guadalupe Garibaldi Actually, not Garibaldi, no more. Hey, get it right, miss Tafoya. Amen, so you know. Thank you, zeke man. Amen, so you know, you know. Thank you, zeke man. Thank you for being such a blessing, thank you for being obedient, thank you for sharing your wounds and your healings and your victories and your fall downs. And I just want to let you know, I know that your work is never going in vain and even in there, even there's secret and silent victories that you don't even know about.
Speaker 2:But I know God sees it, and thank God I ain't a female, because if I had mascara on Me too, me too this was a therapy session for me and Z. God, no, we need this. Thank you to BKW and Flying Phoenix PCs for making this episode possible and for planting a seed here at Elohim Podcast. Elohim Podcast.